Cornel West’s presidential campaign faces ballot challenge, allegations of forgery in Michigan

Cornel West doing press outside the Democratic presidential debate in Detroit, Aug. 1, 2019 | Susan J. Demas

Professor and independent presidential candidate Cornel West could be blocked from the ballot in Michigan, after a Bay City community activist filed a complaint alleging West’s qualifying petitions were “ rife with forged signatures.”

Rosa Holliday, a longtime civil rights advocate and community rights activist from Bay City filed a complaint with the Board of State Canvassers, requesting the board compare each signature to those in Michigan’s Qualified Voter File and disqualify West.

In the complaint, Holliday and her attorneys, Mark Brewer and Rowan Conybeare, said the board should find the following patterns when examining the petitions:

• 1,409 petition sheets were completely filled out — constituting more than half of the signatures filed — but they are immaculate, with no crossed-out signatures.
• The petition sheets evidence no wear or tear, which the complaint says is indicative the sheets were filled out indoors by forgers.
• Many petitions — circulated by over 50 circulators — show round-tabling, distinctive letters or distinct handwriting.

Brewer is a former Michigan Democratic Party chair.

The complaint also alleged several West campaign circulators have committed forgery in other petition drives, arguing there are at least two individuals impersonating others, pointing to circulators named in challenges to other candidate’s petitions, or who had circulated for a campaign whose signatures were challenged. The complaint also cites multiple examples of the same circulators signing certificates with “distinctly different” signatures, which it says is indicative of forgery.

“I believe in fairness and holding accountable those who don’t want to play by the rules —  regardless of their party or the office they’re seeking. Too many Michiganders have been deceived in recent years by candidates attempting to qualify for the ballot by submitting petitions that are rife with fraud and forgery, and this is yet another example,” Holliday said in a statement released by Clear Choice Action, a political action committee that has pushed for accountability for third-party candidates in support of Democrats’ campaign against former president Donald Trump.

“The Board owes the voters of Michigan a speedy and thorough investigation — what they’ll find is an organized effort by the West campaign to submit massive numbers of clearly fraudulent signatures,” Holliday said.

In an email to the Advance , West spokesperson Edwin DeJesus said the campaign views the challenge as “part of a broader attempt to undermine the democratic process rather than legitimate legal objections.”

The West campaign has called on the board to reject the challenge.

“The allegations focus on procedural issues such as incomplete voter information and errors by petition circulators, disproportionately emphasizing technicalities over substantial compliance,” DeJesus said.

“This approach appears to strategically limit electoral participation, overshadowing the broader intent to maintain electoral integrity. Moreover, the claim of widespread forgery without substantial evidence of intent or actual voter deception contributes to an environment that may disenfranchise voters and hinder fair political representation,” DeJesus said.

The Board of State Canvassers’ next meeting is scheduled for Aug. 26. The board has not yet posted an agenda for the upcoming meeting.

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